I posted the following on my Facebook page after my adult students played for their peers yesterday over Skype. Their performances were beamed from London, England; Sydney, Australia; near Asheville, North Carolina; Prospect, Kentucky; Chico, California, and Berkeley, home of the esteemed university. "Heartfelt music sharing in the wake of a tragic loss of Parisian… Continue reading Our Global-wide Skype Music Sharing: Triumph over Tragedy
I'm ready for a shower of criticism on this one. After all, some adults want their favorite transcription of the Elvira Madigan theme song, (aka Mozart's Concerto No. 21 in C, Andante) to encapsulate their musical journey---at least for part of the time. And that's OK if the transcription route of top ten, poorly transformed… Continue reading No dumbing down piano study for adult students
It's one thing to fly from California to New York, taking in awesome views from the plane. But would I lay back and lapse into surrendering a week of piano instruction just because I had a NYC based family obligation? No way! As long as I had my iPhone as backup, I would try to… Continue reading Piano Lesson from the Big Apple by iPhone!
When considering ways to pedal Chopin's ethereal A minor Waltz, I think back to Stephen Hough and his teacher's comments about the learning process: “I don’t care how you’re playing the piece now, what I care about is how you’ll play it in 10 years.” (Gordon Green) Well as a segue way to this posting,… Continue reading Pedaling Chopin Waltz No. 19 in A minor, Op. Posthumous
All too often piano students give up on a piece after so many weeks of exposure, thinking the fingering is settled, the beats are well-measured, and the notes have fallen into place. At this juncture, a Big STOP SIGN must impede the restless from plunging into a new musical journey despite their belief that the… Continue reading Stay LONGER with a piece for higher levels of learning and awareness
Tempo Rubato as defined in Wikipedia: "Tempo rubato (free in the presentation, Italian for: stolen time) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor." I think of it in… Continue reading Tempo Rubato and Chopin Waltz in A minor No. 19, Op. Posthumous
Today I was scoping out some Baldwin Acrosonic pianos on New York Craig's List as I have a few East Coast Skype students who are playing not-so-terrific sounding digitals. They cannot produce a singing tone on them, or enjoy the "feel" of a real piano. (the so-called hammer-weighted feature, notwithstanding) Naturally, not every "real" piano… Continue reading The argument for learning piano on an acoustic
Most transfer students that I've encountered over the years better brave the change from one teaching style to another, by watching recorded views of their lessons. Because there may be a tad of anxiety associated with approaching the piano in a different way than previously learned, watching instructional excerpts that focus on the piano as… Continue reading Lesson supplement videos assist Transfer Students in their transition to a new teacher
Just as the clocks were turned back here in the US, a student from the UK notified me of a recently posted interview with Pressler at the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall site. This is a FREE option, not needing subscriber status. (NOTE: The interview is in German with English subtitles) http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/16878-3 "It is love… Continue reading A NEW interview with pianist, Menahem Pressler
An encore tribute to Maestro Pressler caught my eye on FB's Art of Piano Pedagogy forum. Deborah Rambo Sinn, a fine musician and teacher in her own right posted "My violinist's interview" with the octogenarian plus ten. It was the perfect supplement to a 2012 blog that I'd dedicated to Menahem that resonates into the… Continue reading Facebook puts Menahem Pressler center stage, practicing “with love.”
Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten) 